1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a metal-air battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
A metal-air battery includes a negative electrode for intercalation/deintercalation of ions and a positive electrode using oxygen from the air as an active material. When the metal-air battery operates, a reduction/oxidation reaction of oxygen that flows in the battery from the outside occurs in the positive electrode and an oxidation/reduction reaction of a metal occurs in the negative electrode. Chemical energy is generated, which is output as electrical energy. For example, the metal-air battery may absorb oxygen during a discharge operation and emit oxygen during a charge operation. Since the metal-air battery uses oxygen from the atmosphere, an energy density of the battery may be substantially increased. For example, the metal-air battery may have an energy density many times greater than that of a lithium ion battery.
Also, the metal-air battery has excellent stability due to a low possibility of ignition at high temperature. In addition, environmental pollution caused by the metal-air battery is low since such a battery does not use a heavy metal and operates based on the intercalation/deintercalation of oxygen. Nonetheless, despite to various advantages of the metal-air battery, there remains a need for batteries having further improved performance.